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Sean Spence- Breakdown and analysis

Some people, including myself were a little surprised by this pick (I was screaming for Taamu :-)....) but overall while i think it was a slight reach and not a great schematic fit i do like the pick and heres why:

Spence is undersized but hes good in traffic, hes a good special teamer, and up until this point he hasnt let his size hurt him in playing football so i wouldnt expect that to just become a burden now. He like timmons is probably better suited for a weakside backer in a 43, but the steelers have tended to draft MLBs a bit smaller than you would prefer in a 34, but with the beef on the oline (espeically now) it hasnt hurt them and actually i think has become a more effective schematic advantage (many 34 teams are playing with smaller, penetrating NTs and DEs....we kinda stockpile dlinemen that can stack and shed blockers and stuff the run)

He may never be a starter, and may find starts here and there as a backup, but he looks to thrive in the nickel backer role covering TEs and Backs because thats what the league is now, we need someone who can run with big and fast TEs and cover sneaky RBs out of the backfield and thats exactly what spence brings to the table. Hes not going to blow through guards like lets say donta hightower would, but he will be able to run with ray rice and guys like gresham/gronk...ect. I dont expect much from him early on the defense, but i do expect him to be one hell of a special teamer...Spence, Sly, Allen are all great special teamers, we could be looking at a top coverage unit

I met him once too at Miami while i was visiting a friend, real nice guy too....i just have a feeling hes gonna be a guy that will put in the amount of work needed to make an impact on the team, regardless of the role

I feel this is a Keith Butler future DC pick and that Butlers Defense is going to be much faster and Aggressive than what we've been getting lately. I still thought Ta' Amu should of been picked in the 3rd and Spence or Nigel Bradham may have been there in the 4th and then Brandon Washington or Tom Compton in the 6st.

it seems like his instincts are above and beyond ... and a very good tackler ... I don't think his size is a problem, i don't want him to add weight, stay around 225-230 and keep athleticism ...

I don't just think he's a nickel type linebacker , i think that's a insult to him ... if our big guys upfront (Heyward, Ta'amu , Hood) can keep the Oline busy i can see this guy being a tackling machine, mainly because of his instincts ... Him and Timmons inside i think will be the future,and a very good one at that ...i love Sly and he still has a shot but i just think Spence can do more

Just because he is small doesn't mean crap, if he has the football skills it will allow him to play smarter or say bigger and as said before if the line can keep the OL off him Look out, there have been a few small LB's come through the NFL so hopefully he will pan out and I'm a believer, let's go take the Dink out of Dunk.

"Without ME, it's just AWESO"
and
"To all the virgins, thanks for nothing"

Just because he is small doesn't mean crap, if he has the football skills it will allow him to play smarter or say bigger and as said before if the line can keep the OL off him Look out, there have been a few small LB's come through the NFL so hopefully he will pan out and I'm a believer, let's go take the Dink out of Dunk.

He's basically Farrior size coming out of college... He's bound to gain 5-10 lbs with the weight training and nutrition programs in the NFL. Not to mention football is now his full time job. You really can't teach instincts either.

LeBeau has less to do with this team than you can imagine....This is Keith Butlers Defense and Spence with his speed and instincts are part of it.....DLB will retire after this season and for all intent purposes has begun to do so........